


Coping

by awgaskarth0805



Category: All Time Low (Band)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26829979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awgaskarth0805/pseuds/awgaskarth0805
Summary: Alex is surprised to learn that Jack's latest breakup is bothering him so much.
Kudos: 2





	Coping

“Hey, let’s finish this conversation later, Rian. I have to go over to Jack’s, the two of us are supposed to go shopping for some new clothes to take on tour next week,” Alex said into his phone, as he grabbed his keys and wallet out of his dresser.  
“Oh right, I forgot you two were doing that. Good luck with it, though,” Rian replied, laughing some.   
“What do you mean by that?”  
“Dude, Jack’s been acting super weird ever since that breakup he went through. Have you even seen him since his ex and him called it quits?”  
“Well, not just the two of us, but when we’ve hung out in groups I have. It can be hard to do any big group thing when something like that happens, so that’s probably why he’s been weird in those settings. I’m sure everything will be fine since it’s just the two of us today,”  
“I hope you’re right, but still good luck with it. Don’t forget that rehearsals start tomorrow!” Rian exclaimed, making Alex roll his eyes some.   
“Oh please, you know I wouldn’t ever forget. I’ll see you tomorrow, man,” Alex said, finally hanging up his phone. Once he was sure that he had everything he’d need, he went outside, and over to his car.   
As he started to drive over to Jack’s place, Alex started to think about what Rian had said. Alex would be lying if he’d said he weren’t concerned about his friend at all, but Jack really didn’t seem to be doing that bad in the few times he’d seen Jack since his breakup. He decided that he didn’t want to talk about this with Jack unless he brought it up himself, not wanting things to be awkward, so he would treat today like any other day.   
Eventually, Alex pulled into Jack’s driveway and got out of his car, then went up to Jack’s front door. He rang the doorbell and waited longer than usual for it to finally open. When it did, Alex saw Jack, who was wearing his PJs, and generally looked awful. His hair was sticking up, his eyes were bloodshot with dark circles underneath them, and his face looked like it had been drained of its normal life and color.  
“Shit, you look like a wreck, dude!” Alex exclaimed, hoping to lighten the mood by joking with his friend.  
“Thanks, I know. Why are you here?” Jack asked in reply, slightly slurring his words.  
“Um, we’re supposed to go to the mall to shop for some clothes for the tour we’re about to go on. Don’t you remember? We made these plans, like, three weeks ago,”  
“Oh right, we did. Why don’t you come in?”   
Jack opened the door up all of the way, and Alex walked inside. As they walked over to the living room, Alex noticed that Jack’s place was messier than usual, which surprised him.   
Eventually, they sat down on the couch, and Jack leaned against the back, resting his head, and shutting his eyes.  
“Are you feeling okay, man?” Alex finally asked, as he noticed the concerning amount of alcohol containers sitting on the coffee table in front of them.  
“Yeah, I’m just a bit hungover. I drank a bit too much last night,” Jack admitted, his eyes still tightly shut.  
“I see. Did you go out with friends or something?”  
“No, I stayed here. I was just going to have a little, but I eventually lost track. It doesn’t matter, though,”  
“Oh, okay. Well, it can be fun to get a buzz by yourself sometimes, there’s nothing wrong with that,” Alex tried.  
“No, we both know that’s not good, and that you’re just saying that. Nice words aren’t going to cure me or make me feel better, you know,”   
Jack sounded annoyed, and Alex could tell that he was acting differently, which was the exact opposite of what he’d wanted to do.   
“Well, never mind that. Why don’t I help you clean up your place some before we go?” Alex offered.  
“Nah, that sounds like a bit much right now,”  
“That’s fine. Hey, I know you have breakfast food in your kitchen, why don’t I make you something? Some pancakes could help you feel better from that hangover,”  
“The only thing that would make me feel any better is getting drunk again, so the being drunk could cancel out the being hungover,”  
“Well, we could-“  
“I don’t want to do anything right this second, Alex!” Jack exclaimed, sitting up to look at his friend.  
“Well, I guess nothing I’m suggesting is going to help you, you just want to be miserable, don’t you?” Alex asked back, feeling a bit annoyed by Jack’s attitude.  
“No, I don’t want to be miserable, I want to be happy. I want to be okay,”   
“Well, every time I’ve seen you when we’ve hung out with other people lately, you’ve honestly seemed fine, so excuse me for being a bit surprised by all of this,”  
“I’m not okay, I’m just good at pretending I am when I need to, Alex,” Jack’s voice got quiet, and he sounded a bit embarrassed.  
“Well, let’s talk about it, instead of you just suffering in silence and attempting to drink your feelings away. Spoiler alert, that doesn’t work, and it’ll just make everything feel so much worse in the long run,”  
“No, there’s no use in talking to you, you don’t get this. You’re happy and you have someone who loves you. There’s no way you know how this feels,” Jack said, his eyes starting to water.  
“Jack, of course I understand what you’re going through. Dating while being on tour is super hard to do, and it doesn’t always have a happy ending. Maybe I should’ve tried to talk with you about this sooner, but I honestly had no idea that you were hurting so much over this,” Alex explained, scooting closer to his friend.  
“We don’t have to get into all of this, I know you want to go shop, and-“  
“This is so much more important than going to the mall. Please, talk to me, man, let me try to help you,”   
Jack saw the sincere look on Alex’s face and took a deep breath before finally speaking.  
“Okay, fine. When we were on our last tour, I’d get into arguments with her over the stupidest shit. Like, she didn’t like all of the attention we get from girls, she didn’t like me partying after shows so much, stuff like that. I’d usually try to comply to what she wanted to avoid these stupid bickering matches, but I also didn’t want you or the other guys to think that something was up. I only tried to do what she wanted, because I loved her, and I didn’t want to fuck up what we had. Right after we got back from tour, she was very clear about how much she hated my lifestyle, since I’m in a band, and that this wouldn’t be sustainable for her, and we called it quits that night. I know we weren’t together for a super long time, but I really did love her. I guess I thought that us loving each other was enough for us to be able to last, but I was clearly wrong. I know I’ve been drinking way too much, but it’s how I’ve been coping. Being around other people is hard, because this feels like a failure that others can judge me for. I really want to just forget about this and be okay again, but it doesn’t work like that. I’m a bit fucked up, but I swear that I’m trying,” Jack explained, his voice cracking at the end, as more tears started to stream down his face.  
“Shit, I had no idea that everything was so bad, man. I’m so sorry I didn’t talk to you about this sooner. I honestly thought that you weren’t super phased by this since you all weren’t together for a very long time. The first relationship that I had that initially went to shit on the road was a high school relationship, so I guess that since you didn’t have all of that history, I assumed you wouldn’t be so shaken up. Time really doesn’t matter, I guess, it’s more about the feelings,” Alex replied, not sure of what else he could say to help.  
“It’s not your fault, you don’t need to apologize. I think the reason it hurts so much, is because I’ve always wanted a romantic connection with someone, like what you have. I love you and our other friends, but having a significant other is different. I guess I just feel lonely sometimes, and this was such a blow, because it just reaffirms those feelings, and makes them feel more intense,”   
“That’s understandable, I’ve felt that way in the past, too. Dating while on the road is insanely hard, and it takes the right person to be able to not only realize that, but to also be willing to make it work, too. Until you find the right one, you know you’ve got me, Rian, and Zack. I know that’s different than a romantic partner, but we’ve got your back, and we’ll always be right here with you, I promise. It’s okay to feel sad over this, but you’re never going to be truly alone, you’ve got the rest of the band, your friends, our fans. Also, you’ve got me, and when we were fifteen and I told you that I’d always be here for you, I meant it,” Alex sincerely stated, making a small smile appear on Jack’s face.  
“Thanks, Alex, I really needed that. I really should’ve gone to you sooner, but I’m glad we’re talking about this now. Hey, would it be okay if we skip the mall today? Talking with you did help me feel better, but I don’t know if I’ve got all of that in me today,”  
“No problem, why don’t I just stay here with you today? I can make those pancakes I offered earlier, and we can just watch movies or something here,” Alex suggested.  
“Do you really want to spend the day doing that?”  
“Of course I do! I’m going to go start those pancakes now, I hope you have chocolate chips!”   
Alex bolted up and over to the kitchen, as Jack started to smile again. He was still hurting but having Alex as his best friend made it all easier to handle and reminded him that everything would be okay.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, I got the idea for this fic from a prompt blog! I've still got more ideas I can work with, but please send in requests if you have them! I love writing all's ideas, so I'm hoping to get more soon! Also, I realized that the two year anniversary of me posting my fics is coming up super soon (at the end of this month), so I'm going to try to think of something fun to post on that day, but I'm open to any ideas you all have for that, too! Thank you for reading, it really does mean a lot. Lots of love, Liv.


End file.
